I’m heading off to Washington, D.C., on Thursday for the American Library Association, so my blog will be quiet until I return next week. If you’ll be at ALA and want to catch me there, here are the places I will be.
To keep you busy until I return, here are some reading suggestions, divided into a few categories:
Books that changed my world
There’s been an ongoing Twitter discussion recently of #booksthatchangedmyworld, and it’s been fun to see what books were formative for other people. Here are a couple that made a giant difference in my life:
A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L’Engle — In this, the third volume in L’Engle’s Austin family series, 16-year-old Vicky Austin spends the weekend on an island (off the East Coast?) with her grandfather, who is dying of leukemia. Sounds like a downer, but this book is a revelation. It brings together life, death, religion, falling in love, and dolphins. I would say this is my favorite book of my childhood. My favorite!
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott — Do girls read this book anymore? I’m not sure, but I adored it when I was little. Everybody typically loves Jo, but I must admit that I adored little Amy. I know that a lot of people found her whiny and annoying, but I loved her. (Obviously I shared Jo’s desires to be a writer, but she was too tomboyish for me to identify with. I was totally a girlie girl. However, hindsight being 20/20 and all, I might have had a crush on Jo.)
My favorite scene is probably the mushiest scene in the whole book: When Amy is in Europe, and Laurie comes to visit her after Beth dies, and they sit together under some flowery arch or something. I think I probably swooned the first time I read that scene. I know a lot of people think Jo should have been with Laurie, but I think Laurie and Amy are just about perfect. (Jo, obviously, should not have married the German prof. She should have … stayed single just like Louisa May Alcott and made suggestive comments about how much she loved women.)
Books I’ve read recently (and enjoyed!)
Insatiable by Meg Cabot — It’s vampire chick lit with a side of pop feminism! I raced through this book and thought it was hilarious and fun. This is an excellent beach book.
Lies by Michael Grant — The third book in the Gone series, which is super intense. I could not put it down, even though parts of it were so disturbing (in a good way) I wish I could. If you were a fan of Lost and enjoy post-apocalyptic YA, I highly recommend this series. Book 1 is Gone; book 2 is Hunger, and book 3 is Lies. They’re thick, but you’ll race through them.
Books I’m reading now
The Passage by Justin Cronin — Absolutely awesome beginning, but stuck around page 275. Giving it a break before I resume.
Pegasus by Robin McKinley (ARC) — It’s Robin McKinley! Writing about pegasi! ‘Nuff said. (Comes out in November 2010)
3 books from my TBR pile
Wildthorn by Jane Eagland (ARC) — Historical YA (originally pubbed in the UK; coming out in the US in Sept. 2010) that came highly recommended by a fellow author. Can’t wait!
The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling — Short stories! Because I’m about to write one.
Tithe by Holly Black — Because I’m going to Sirens this fall, where she will be one of the guests of honor, and I am ashamed to admit I have not read it yet.
What books changed your world? What are you reading now?
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Oh, I absolutely love little women, but I, like most people, loved Jo and didn’t give much a damn about Amy.
I don’t know if you know, but Meg Cabot also wrote a review about Ash in her blog (she mostly made comments on the side of another review), that’s how I found out about Ash!
Thanks for your comment, Jasmin. That’s so great that Meg Cabot’s review turned you on to ASH!
I think you are the only person I’ve ever known, besides me, who likes Amy!
Only I wasn’t so thrilled about her ending up with Laurie. To me, Amy was at her best at the art fair where the other girls were being mean and backstabby toward her, and she rose above it.
(Though I also loved the episode of the pickled limes and the one where she gave the huge party that only one person came to.)
Woo! Amy fans unite!
That pickled lime incident was extremely excellent. I was a big fan of Jo, too (probably she was my second favorite character in the book), but for some reason Amy always cracked me up. I felt like she was often misunderstood and as she grew up had to learn how to be genuine. Whereas Jo was always genuine from the get-go, but her character arc sort of fizzled out, which thus disappointed me.
In young adolescence I fell in love with Monica Furlong’s Juniper and Wise Child: well-written fantasy and I identified with the feminist heroines. In high school, Crime and Punishment showed me that literature could be something I’d never thought possible (and in college, the same book taught me the importance of a good translation). Recently Francine Prose’s insightful How to Read Like a Writer has renewed my love for fiction after too long immersed in the non-fiction realms of science and medicine! I just finish Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man is Hard to Find and am seeking out other short story collections. Oh, and I read a lot of bad gay lit in college, but Florence King’s Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady was a winner.
Count me in on the Little Women love. I totally agree that Amy/Laurie are perfect for each other, and I also had a crush on Jo. Tomboys are awesome.
Also, thanks for mentioning Wildthorn. YA lesbian historical? I’m so there! Now, just trying to decide if I should order from the UK or wait for it to come out in hardcover here.
If we’re talking childhood books, I’d have to say “Robinson Crusoe” by Daniel Defoe. It was the first “grown-up” book I ever read by myself. We had a battered old collection of “classics” that someone gave my parents, and these books (along with a completely surreal and irrelevant, 20 volume collection of Bret Harte’s writings) were the first things I ever read. And, boy, did I read them. Over and over. I identified with Crusoe, because I, too, felt alone and abandoned (that’s another story) — and I was bolstered by his courage and resourcefulness. He taught me about survival and hope; Defoe taught me that literature could save your soul.
Yikes! I have been looking at Sirens and wishing to go… Knowing that you are attending makes me want to go even more!
I only recently read Ash, and absolutely loved it. I started reading it without knowing what it was about – only that it was a novel with faeries in it – and I loved watching the wonderful relationship between Ash and Kaisa unfurl. I’ll be following your blog now!
I haven’t read any of those I have to say. But the books that I still am reeling from the impact of are The Hours by Michael Cunningham and Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe. Though I have to admit I have a problem where the most recent books I have read tend to be on my mind the most. I don’t know if I have the experience to indicate any particular books as my favourites!
Well, the “Harry Potter” series would obviously be #1 in terms of books that “changed my world”, due to the fact that they were the books that turned me on to fantasy (which is now my favorite genre). Another would be “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak. Before reading it, I never really realized books could be that powerful. It’s still the best book I’ve ever read, and one that everyone should read.
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